There is a ‘space nation’ that’s recruiting earthlings to become citizens

Still dying for that Green Card?

‘Space Republic’ might soon join the ranks of the many things that have graduated from science fiction to reality in recent years. And if you have ever fancied forsaking your current citizenship and becoming a full-blown space-cadet, there’s already a space nation in existence and it is inviting calls for citizenship. Welcome to Asgardia, the world’s first space nation that came into existence in October last year and has, as of this week, given its 200,000-odd citizens voting rights. Admittedly, Asgardia doesn’t own a USS Enterprise-style spaceship (yet), but it’s already got a formal head-of-state, a constitutional monarchy, citizenship, voting rights and even its own satellite – the Asgardia-1.

What is Asgardia?

First things first, if you haven’t guessed already, it’s named after Thor’s home-world Asgard (Not the Marvel one, but the actual Nordic mythology version). So if you’re a citizen of this country, you might soon be able to legally call yourself an ‘Asgardian’. It was founded by one Dr Igor Ashurbeyli, the founder of the Aerospace International Research Centre and Chairman of UNESCO’s Science of Space Committee. To be clear, it’s not yet a ‘physical country’ yet, and it doesn’t even aim to be one in the conventional sense. The goal is to form a country composed entirely of space colonies and spaceships. And since a UN recognition is the most important stamp of approval for fledgeling nations, Ashurbeyli who holds a PhD in Engineering is petitioning for a seat for Asgardia at the international body. As of now, Asgardia has a total of 219,000 members, which means that even before it is officially recognised as a nation, it has a population that’s more than that of Monaco, Lichtenstein and Bermuda combined. And it’s constantly growing. Plus, it’s a trans-ethnic and trans-nation space, meaning it will draw it’s population from all countries in the world without discrimination. The constitutional monarchy named Dr Igor as its first Head of State last year. And just like in other such countries, the Head of State is set to be elected once every five years through a parliamentary election. As for the Asgardian calendar – it has 13 months and 28 days in total against the Gregorian Calendar’s 12. The extra month, which will be observed between June and July will be called Asgard. The ‘country’ already has three official holidays (because, priorities). October 12 will be Asgardia’s official birthday, December 31 will be called Year Day, while June 18 will be celebrated as National Unity Day. Among the legal issues holding back Asgardia from becoming a recognised country is diplomatic relationships with other countries – one of the primary criteria for granting UN membership. This means that before Asgardia becomes a nation, other Earth nations will need to recognise it as a sovereign nation and have diplomatic relationships with it.

The Constitution of Asgardia

Image: Twitter/Asgardia

The concept of this space nation is pluralism and is made to mimic the positives of modern-day governments without its negatives (such as conflicts). It counts a total of 13 of the world’s most widely spoken languages among its official languages (Only Zimbabwe, with 16, has more). The aspiring nation even has its own currency, Gor. The official motto of Asgardia is ‘One Humanity, One Unity’. And Asgardia has just celebrated its first Unity Day on June 18, 2017 (Or Asgard 1, if you go by the Asgardian calendar) and voted on its draft constitution. They even recently revealed their plans to construct their first physical domain in the form of an orbital station (a station on the moon is also on the cards):

So how can you be an Asgardian?

Image: Twitter/Asgardia

Well, it’s as simple as joining Facebook – you just go on to their website, Asgardia.space, and fill out a simple application. But not everyone applying is immediately given membership and Asgardia provides memberships to applicants at its own discretion, much like other nations, except a lot less cumbersome. When it was first launched, a total of 500,000 people from around the world applied for a membership, out of which only 200,000 candidates who were ‘serious’ about the concept and making the switch were chosen after selection. If your question is when can you shift to your Asgardian space home – well, the only thing leaving Planet Earth anytime soon will be your personal information, that you have provided to Asgardia. It will be sent to space on board the soon-to-be-launched Asgardia 1 satellite.